Migrants: Italy Wants EU Border Agency In Africa, Not At Sea

Italy wants Europe’s border agency to stop migrants in transit countries before they board boats rather than working in the Mediterranean, Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said on Tuesday.His comments come as the new populist government closed its ports to rescue ships, one of which was forced to disembark more than 600 migrants in Spain at the weekend, and as migration again moves to the top of the EU agenda. Pressure from Italy and Germany has helped prompt the EU to agree next week to look into creating disembarkation platforms in north Africa and elsewhere to decide asylum requests before claimants get to Europe, according to a draft statement ahead of an EU summit. Since the end of 2013, hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing violence and poverty — mostly in Africa and the Middle East — have traveled to Libya to then try to reach Europe by boat. Thousands have died during the crossing